The shallow echo of high heels reverbed down the clean corridor. In each adjacent room, Shield Agents busied themselves with paperwork or weapon design, sitting at computers and typing on the keyboards. This was not the ideal environment of work for the owner of the heels. It was far too enclosed, and just downright boring. There was no movement, no fear factor and no thrill.

Natasha Romanoff was a woman of action. Sadly since the New York Incident, she wasn't. Not by choice, however, but just due to the lack of interesting work. It had been incredibly slow the last 6 months and she wanted out. What was the use in being cooped up inside? She felt trapped. Like a bird in a cage.

The Russian had spent most of her days sitting in a small office area, sifting through documents upon documents, checking them all for errors and correcting them. Natasha found it more stressful than being out on the field, which was saying something, considering most of the time in the field there was a high chance of death. But then again, that's what she had been trained for, contrary to being deskbound and trying to avoid paper cuts.

Although, there had been one thing getting her through the long months. One thing that helped keep her from quitting the job. That one thing happened to be in the shape of Agent Hill. When Natasha had needed a distraction the most, it had been her. Of all people.

Natasha rounded the corner, a small squeaking sound emitting from her heels as she turned. Now, only a mere 20 steps away from Hill's office a small lump appeared in the back of her throat. She was nervous. Unconditionally. Miss Romanoff had been trained ever since she was a little girl to hide emotions and suddenly that was all irrelevant. She couldn't help it.

There was a reason for this, but Natasha really didn't like to admit it to herself. Her mind was playing games with her. The angel on her shoulder telling her it was lies, but the devil telling her it was truth. She forcibly shook her head as Loki's words rung in her cranium from all those months ago.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

Biting her lower lip, she reached the door to Maria's workplace. Natasha stood outside for a few minutes, composing herself.

"This is stupid." She whispered to herself. "Love is for children."

The Agent was right. Or so she thought she was. She claimed to herself that she only had a close friendship with Maria, a special one. A type of relationship she had never had before. It wasn't love. It couldn't be? There was a high chance Hill wasn't into women anyway, let alone interested in Natasha.

Miss Romanoff exhaled sharply, before knocking on the door softly, pushing it open. Gliding inside, she saw Maria's elegant stature parked graciously onto the seat of a brown office chair. Hill glanced up quickly.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here." Maria's voice was very uniform and official. She seemed to be in a neutral mood, possibly due to the fact it was a Friday and she may have to work the next day. Shield Agents didn't always get the weekend off, which was understandable, however work was always much more relaxed on a Saturday.

"Hey." The lump in Natasha's throat impaired her speech slightly. "Well, I'm here now." The Black Widow had previously sent a memo forward, letting Hill know she was coming. That was general etiquette at Shield, so why would she be any different with Maria?

Natasha strode over and perched on the edge of the desk, letting her legs dangle freely. She stole a look over at the other's façade and placed her hands gently in her own lap.

"You know, if it wasn't for you I probably would have quit this job by now." She sighed happily.

"Well, that's what friends are for, right?" Maria retorted knowingly, offering a friendly but forced smile at the figure balanced on her writing desk.

Nodding back at Agent Hill, Natasha struggled to find the right words in her head for what she wanted to ask. She sat in silence for a short while, noticing how calm and collected Maria remained. It was hard to read her at times. No matter how long Natasha stared and stared, no clues on what Hill was thinking or feeling would arise. This didn't surprise Nat, it was Maria Hill after all.

Sliding her soft palms off her own lap, she laid them on the table either side of her. Drumming her fingers softly against the brim of the desk, she crossed her ankles and clicked her heels together in an attempt to stall more time.

Finally, Natasha was able to construct the correct word pattern she was looking for, whether she was able to deliver it in the way she hoped was the question.

"Maria, would you say we've become… Rather close these past few months?" Articulating her words carefully, Natasha locked eyes with her co-worker.

Maria pulled her bottom lip between her teeth in a moment of thought. "Yes, I suppose it would be fair to say that."

"Well then…" Natasha's voice trailed off as she tried to draw courage from deep down inside her. She scorned herself, told herself to stop being afraid. The well-trained agent was great at coping with fear. She was qualified to handle any kind of terror, any kind except this one.

Taking a deep breath she started her sentence again. "Well then, would it be fair request your presence at dinner tonight?"

There had been a reason Natasha slipped into a sleek, dainty dress. Its everlasting black material fitted well against the assassin's curves and contrasted with her promiscuous, danger-red lipstick. It was almost a way of tempting Maria out. It was subtle, oh so subtle. It could easily be taken as usual Black Widow casual wear, however when selecting her outfit, Miss Romanoff had one person in mind, and that one person in mind only.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Agent?" Hill's face remained unchanged, with exception of her left eyebrow being raised inquiringly.

On impulse, Natasha retorted. "No." She faltered for a split second. "It's more like two friends getting to know each other a little better over some food." Her expression was blank and her words riddled with simplicity.

"Sounds like a date to me." Maria countered as her dashed-pink lips teasingly smirked for a millisecond, before being thrust back into a flat expression. It had been slightly seductive, but more playful, something incredibly rare from Agent Hill and Natasha was lucky to spot it. "Tell me, Miss Romanoff, where do you propose on taking me for this date?"

"It's not a date." Natasha insisted, consequently she was lying through her teeth. She wanted it to be a date. Every ounce in her body wanted it to be a date, yet her brain refused to let her lips admit that to the woman sitting opposite her. "But I was planning on taking you somewhere fancy, somewhere really posh and expensive. Then I realised, what better way for you to get to know me, than in the comfort of my own home."

The two women were close, yes. Nevertheless they were close colleagues. Shield Agents kept their work lives and their social lives separate. So far, the relationship between the two was solely based on work. Tasha didn't want that. Maria had been so kind to her in the work environment; imagine what she'd be like in a relaxed environment.

Smiling almost affectionately, Agent Hill picked up a pen and twiddled it between her fingers. "You know, that does actually sound quite appealing." Flicking her eyes to the clock on the wall, she slowly pushed out of the office chair. "Well, my day is finished now. What time should I come round to yours?"

"Right away, if you want." Natasha half blurted this out in excitement.

"Tasha, do I really look like I'm dressed for the occasion? Let me go home and change into something… Nicer first? I'll pick out something special, just for you."

The redhead nodded in agreement. "Come over whenever you're ready. I'll be prepared." Sliding off the desk, she stood up, smoothing out her dress and readying herself to leave. "I'll see you then?"

"I'll see you then." Maria repeated, reassuringly.

Authors note: Updated it slightly to make Maria more IC than before. If there is still room for improvement let me know.